Paranoia
by Shiro the Shinigami
Summary: After being rescued by his brother, Alphonse Elric faces the natural world head-on... but can he stand against it? Alternate twist to the end of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. R&R, please!


**((Wow, I haven't done a fan-fiction story in a while Oo... I hope this turned out okay n_n. This is an alternate twist ending to the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series, after Alphonse is rescued. I love feedback! If you liked this, please write me a review and let me know! :D I'd love to hear what you enjoyed and what I can improve. Arigato gozaimasu! ^.^**

**((Oh, and thank you, Mr. Anon, for pointing out the eye color. Edward has gold eyes, not blue. *facedesk* I apologize for the mix-up, it's fixed now. n_n))**

**Paranoia**

The world was cold. It was always cold.

Consciousness crept slowly back into my mind. The colors before my eyes were splotched and blotted, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of them. It took a moment to remember what had happened. Edward, my older brother, had just collected my body from that Emptiness, the place between Life and Death. My soul had been restored into this body, out of that metal armor and into the flesh and bone I was born with.

This place was darker than I remembered.

A sickening pang of vertigo clutched my stomach, and I groaned mentally. It was surprising when my groan did not become audible, like it always did when I was armor.

Then, the feeling in my fingers started to return. _Oh, God, no..._ I thought to myself. _Please, no..._

My breath was the first thing to return from the depths of my hollow dreamland. In, out. In, out. A never-ending waterfall of oxygen and carbon, the strain on my throat and my nose, the thud of my heart as it pumped the oxygenated blood throughout my body. Just one breath seemed to deplete my stockpile of energy. It was like I could feel every chemical reaction exploding inside my chest.

The next thing was my hearing. Every cricket chirp, every whisper of the wind, every far-off stomping of feet or sqeak of cars was like a scream through my head, pulling knives down my neck and battering me with their ruckus. My brain fought to process it all, but the sounds weren't the only thing pestering it. The constant flickering of the stars aggrivated my eyes, and the contrasts just weren't showing up right. Twenty million different smells bombarded me, spinning my head back into its comfortable vertigo.

I pulled against my bedsheets, awakening the sense I loathed the most - touch. It wasn't only the botherance of the sheets scratching me, either, or the way my long hair pricked the back of my neck, or the pressure of the blankets against my skin. It was the gut-wrenching pain of weighing fourty pounds at fourteen. The muscles I hadn't used in years were throbbing, waves of agony striking my skull like a hammer. My dry throat and empty stomach pained me to no end, but I couldn't cry out. I had forgotten how.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I gasped for air. The sheer number of sensations baffled me, and made my fingers tremble. Even beyond the five senses, there was the sheer weight of gravity. I was falling! I was flying! I was upright! I was going to fall! Fall! Fall!

My back arched against the mattress, fists balled up with the sheets shredded between my long fingernails.

Suddenly, a sound much louder than the others broke through the madness of my head. It was distorted, but I could still recognize the scratchy voice of Edward Elric. "Alphonse!" He exclaimed. A blond bob appeared in my line of vision, but I couldn't contemplate it. My eyes were too busy producing tears to soothe the ache in my chest.

A huge burst of emotion followed shortly. Edward! My heartbeat fluttered, something in the back of my head longing for his arms around me. But I still couldn't move. I could only lay there, stiff against the bedsheets, trying to regain my breath before I passed out again.

"Calm down, there, buddy." Edward said, his voice softer this time. His face got closer so that I could just barely make out the sharp gold of his eyes, and the way his bangs cut his face into a V. I felt him swish some stray hair out of my face, feeling my icy skin with the back of his hand. Warmth! My heart skipped a beat when I felt him against me. "You're gonna make yourself sick."

"Ed...ward..." I croaked, somehow finding it in me to spit the words out. "Bro...ther..."

"Alphonse...!" His voice shook with emotion. "Can you hear me?"

"Bro...ther..."

Edward's eyes filled with tears, and he put his forehead down on the mattress beside my arm. "I'm so glad you're alright... I was starting to worry about you!"

"Big... bro... ther..."

"What is it, Alphonse?" He leaned forward, and I could see the sparkling gold of his irises blend with the black and gray of the room.

"I want... to die..."


End file.
